middaeg | [closed]

[ Hearing his name yelled by a familiar voice splits his focus, diverting concentration away from casting a thrall. But it only takes a second glance at the gun still in Tieria's hands and the faint reminder of an old death threat for Keith to go right back to trying to grabbing the boy.

Except when he swipes again at the gun, his reach is off. Arms lock around his torso from behind as he's physically dragged back. ]

Lance-- [ He struggles, thrashes really, trying to pull himself free. Eyes wild, there's anger in his voice, yes, but a trace of fear as well. ]

He's gonna shoot! Can't let him-- let go!

[ Someone else is here. Normally that should fill Tieria with relief because he's clearly the victim in this scenario and should be getting saved, but... this person knows Keith, seems to care for Keith....

And that's precisely why he won't put the gun down for even a second, adjusting his aim as soon as he has enough freedom to do so. It's too bad his hands are shaking, because he's so dizzy and wheezing heavily, but... he can still shoot. Maybe a head shot is what it would take for Keith? ]

Give me... one good reason not to.

Because he's not in his right mind and he's hungry! He can feed off of someone else if he just comes home and nobody has to die!

[ lance is visibly shaking, what with tieria still holding onto his gun, pointing it right at keith -- which may very well go through him too, if he shoots. lance doesn't let go of keith, though. he keeps pulling as hard as he can, but his strength can't keep up with keith's and he's slowly letting keith slip out of his grasp.

he forces himself to look tieria in the eye. he looks angry and even more terrified, but he's going to do what he can to assert himself. this situation is out of control. it's up to him. and if he fails here... ]

Put the gun down. I'll deal with him.

Edited 2020-08-13 06:40 (UTC)

[ Having the gun aimed at his head only makes Keith struggle harder. The bullet wound in his chest continues to burn like it's been doused in kerosene and set on fire and the threat of having that happen to him a second time is enough to compel him to fight for his life.

Un-life?

Whatever the semantics of that are, Keith manages to wrest one of his arms free from Lance's grip. Why is he even being held back? Isn't it obvious that Tieria is a problem that has to be dealt with? ANd isn't it all the better if part of dealing with Tieria conveniently means taking care of his own needs? The enticing smell of the Gundam Meister's blood is everywhere, and if he can just stay focused on that then maybe he'll stop feeling so goddamn empty.

He's only half way paying attention through the fervor clouding his head, but there's a phrase that sticks: come home. In a more regressed state of mind, it makes Keith freeze. Home. It doesn't sound right -- he can't go back home to his dad's house with the tire swing out front. ]

What are you--

[ Yet he does still have a home here, right? A home with Lance, Shiro, Allura, Kolivan ... the cat and the wormipede. It's a different spot in his chest that's starting to hurt as some deeper seated longing to be with friends and bonded takes root. Is it really all so simple as just ... listening to Lance? Letting Lance "deal with him" as he's putting it? Or is that just Lance's way of getting him to be more docile and easier to hurt more? Delirious and panicked, Keith halfway wants to claw himself free and end everything right now.

Tieria Erde can't be trusted. Tieria Erde is a terrorist who just casually threatened to kill him. Tieria is someone who won't take unnecessary risks, so why the hell should he be given the same courtesy?

But he wants to go home and the offer of nobody needing to die is something he can't shake off as easily. ]

Lance, don't...

[ Even if it defies every instinct he has, Keith forces himself to stop struggling. He can trust his best friend to make things right, can't he? Closing his eyes, he grits his teeth and braces himself for another gunshot. ]

[ When Keith ceases his insistent fight to get back at Tieria, Tieria can finally take a deep breath and steady himself just a little more. He's dizzy, so incredibly dizzy. It's an awful condition to make any judgement call in. But he needs to survive. Whatever happens, he needs to live through this and eventually return home. Blood loss can't keep him from his mission. Nothing can.

Unfortunately, that means the gun stays up. He's just not firing.

Think, Tieria, think. Can he make it out of the Wilde alone? How far is it back to the city? His thoughts are blurring...

One thing at a time, alright. He can do that. ]

There is no reason you can't take care of him while the gun stays up. He tried to kill me. Pardon me for not trusting any friend of his.

[ lance is glad that keith finally stops struggling, but tieria's insistence on keeping the gun up is infuriating. lance doesn't move for a second, letting the gears turn in his brain -- well, trying to jumpstart them, rather. it's really hard to concentrate with a gun pointing in his direction. ]

Just -- don't shoot. Please.

[ his voice is desperate when he says it, and after a moment, he turns to keith. he moves so he's at keith's side rather than behind him now, pulling off his jacket and pressing it over keith's wound to try to stop the bleeding. ]

Keith, you have to listen to me, okay? Let's go home. Allura can heal this -- [ he has choke back a sob. he's so scared. he's scared that he's going to lose his best friend tonight to some random jackass who's refusing to back down. kolivan is trying to calm him down but lance is too stressed to feel it. ]

please. Don't do anything stupid.

Edited 2020-08-15 02:56 (UTC)

[ Keeping his eyes shut, Keith waits. Waits for another gunshot, another round of searing pain -- something. But when the worst that happens is more talking, Keith opens his eyes. The gun is still aimed at his head, and his glare is feral when he locks eyes with Tieria.

But before he can say or do anything, Lance presses the jacket to his chest and Keith looks down in tandem. The wound isn't bleeding much, oozing more than anything now that his heart's stopped beating entirely. Under a different set of circumstances, he'd find this jarring, but for the time being he clutches the jacket to his injury. Out of sight, out of mind. ]

I don't trust him..

[ Eyes snapping back up to Tieria and his shaky hands. ]

You can't even promise not to shoot accidentally. Put that down.

[ Tieria hesitates. He is shaking, and that is an undeniable fact. He will have to either make it to the city fast or somehow find a save place to rest up a little, because the way things are now, he simply won't last. That means he can't draw this situation out...

If those two won't move away while he has his weapon raised, then this standoff will only work to his detriment. It's that thought which motivates him to at least lower the gun, though he is certainly not letting go of it. ]

Get out of my sight or I will shoot.

[ He has... no idea if he'll really be able to make it back on his own, but like hell is he going to rely on the murder vampire and his buddy. ]

[ lance glances over at keith for a moment, shooting him a firm look -- listen to him -- before looking at tieria. the gun is doing nothing to put him at ease, though the feelings transmitting through his bond with kolivan are helping him center himself. it's enough to get lance to reach into his utility belt with one hand. he holds out his other hand towards tieria, palm up and out as if to say "don't shoot", and he slowly pulls out something that looks like a vial.

there's liquid in it, and lance slowly sets it on the ground. ]

Healing potion. Take it or leave it, your choice.

[ he's fully expecting tieria to leave it, but right now all he cares about is going home. ]

Keith. Let's go.

[ Keith catches Lance's expression, then looks away teeth grit. Home, yes. He wants to go home. And he wants to ensure that Tieria isn't going to take that from him. Mind swimming a little from pain, he puts his foot on the vial after Lance leaves it on the ground.

Stay focused on home, not on the blood. He can do that for a little longer, right? Fangs still sharp in his mouth, he leans a little on the other paladin as he speaks to Tieria. ]

Give the gun to Lance. Then I'll kick the vial over to you. We'll leave the gun on the ground for you to find when we've got a five minute head start.

I am not disarming myself.

[ Unfortunately for everyone involved, Tieria doesn't even need a moment of thought to shoot down this suggestion. The gun may not be pointed at anybody anymore, but it is still absolutely in his hands. ]

You can walk like this. Walk backwards if you must, so you can see I am not raising my weapon. That is all concession I am willing to make to one who frankly deserves death.

[ That's not at all an upsetting thing to say in this situation.... ]

No, he doesn't.

[ lance snaps at tieria immediately once the comment is made. he can think of so many different things he could say but he refrains, for keith's sake. he scowls at tieria, baring his sharp teeth, keeping his eyes on him as he starts to move backwards. ]

Keith. Come on. Do as he says.

[ the frustration is prominent in his voice. there's no negotiating with this guy when it comes to the gun. ]

[ Tieria's comment earns him a scowl. The guy clearly has some kind of death wish, running his mouth like that and a not-so-small part of Keith wants to play. If he were more clear headed, he'd recognize that this is what the books on vampires had meant by "a tendency towards sadistic practices" but as it is, the thought of making Tieria beg for his life is very delicious indeed.

But Lance is still there, still trying to snap him out of whatever mood this is. What is it that Shiro had drilled into his head? Patience yields focus? ]

Fine.

[ He takes his foot off the vial, then kneels to pick up his armor. If nothing else that might serve as a shield. But when the paladin armor is in his hand, he deliberately makes eye contact with Tieria and stomps his foot down on the potion to shatter the vial. ]

Let's go.

[ And true to his word, he does start backing off. ]

Edited 2020-08-16 23:58 (UTC)

[ Even with Keith's display at petulance making Tieria's own trek to the city considerably harder than it might have to be, Tieria breathes a sigh of relief as the odd pair in front of him does indeed start walking.

He's not sure how much longer he'd have been able to keep his wits about him in this kind of stand-off and it's definitely better that he gets a bit of time alone to lick his wounds and only worry about himself.

As promised, he does not raise the gun again and merely keeps his eyes on Keith and Lance until they are out of sight. ]

[closed]

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i'm so sorry about this tag

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